5 Easy ways to build a personal brand using social media

5 Ways to Build a Personal Brand Using Social Media. I was watching one of Neil Patel’s insightful videos and there is something he said that I couldn’t get out of my mind. He said that whether we realize it or not, we are establishing a brand online.

The most we can do is at least be part of the conversation to make sure we control the image that is being portrayed.

Building a personal brand using social media might not be something that most people think about or perhaps when they do think about it, they think it is only for influencers and celebrities, which I am here to dispel completely false or as Donald Trump would put it, fake news!

The truth is that everyone who wishes to build a career should consider building a personal brand online, and if you are telling yourself that there is no need for one, then I am pleased to inform you that you already have a personal brand online.

This personal brand is an aggregate of your online behavior and activity, which you have little or no control over, so what then? So you might as well at the very least try to control the narrative.

What is personal branding using social media? It is how you present yourself through what you post, your captions, and hashtags. It could be defined in a more formal way as any conscious effort employed in creating a voice, image, and or personality associated with you.

With that being said, you will note that actively building a brand is a conscious effort. This means that you will have to think about the image you want to project, think about the niche you would like to be an authority in, and think about the values you wish to project or highlight, all these are important and will be explained in detail in another blog post on the benefits of establishing a personal branding so keep an eye out for that.

Which brings us to the question, how do you actually build your personal brand online? Or using social media?

1. Set clear goals

First, think about the long game. There is a trick to this, ask yourself this question, if Instagram didn’t have likes, what would you post about? What is the point of asking this question?

It brings in the issue of value. What value are you offering your audience? This could be something you could answer off the top of your head or something you need to chew on for a while.

Once you figure it out, you will have the perfect place to start.

2. Choose a niche

The second thing is to think about your audience. Who is your target audience? Knowing who your audience is will help you know the kind of content to post in order for you to create that personal brand, it will also inform your captions and hashtags.

Knowing your niche is very important, it will also inform what type of language you use, how lax or stuffy to be, and the consistency of your posting.

3. Consistency is key

Once you have decided what your goals are and you have a niche you are interested in, the third thing is consistency. Consistency has three parts, the first is how your profiles look and feel, the second is the values and personality portrayed and the third is how often you post.

All your major social media platforms should make it very clear they belong to you. How? All of them should have the exact same profile picture, biography, or profile description, same cover page where applicable, and aesthetic.

If you are thinking this sounds like a lot of work then you are absolutely right, however, the effort was part of the definition. All your social media platforms should also match in terms of voice, tone, values, and personality illuminated. Why is this important? Because when your followers from one platform decide to follow your other platforms, they should be confident it is the same person because you have been consistent on all your platforms.

Consistency also has to do with how often you post. If the content is king, consistency is queen. When you are just entering an online niche, more is more! Post as often as possible, about four to six times a week. Try and create a schedule that your followers can rely on, this will be useful in building a loyal following.

4. Engage your community

Once the first three have been taken care of then comes the issue of community. Your posts are being liked and shared y people who are slowly getting invested in you. These people make up your community and they are precious gems to you. It is your responsibility to engage with them and to get to know them because they are the ones who are helping you grow.

Also, keep in mind that aside from the small community you have created for yourself you also have the larger community that exists that you need to engage in as well. Why? Because when one of your followers asks you about a hot issue going on in the community you must be in the know otherwise you lose credibility.

Also, It will be very difficult for you to create your own community if you don’t engage with the community that already exists in the field you wish to be a part of as well as the communities that have been created by thought leaders and influencers of that same niche. You need to comment, like and engage with these communities as well as with the thought leaders you wish to emulate, try and learn from them as much as you can and apply those principles in building your own brand.

5. Authenticity is everything

Finally, we have authenticity. It is completely taboo to create a personal brand online that does not match your personality offline and this could have devastating effects on all the hard work you put into building a personal brand online. The point is to ensure that there is a seamless match between your personality online and your personality offline so that when you meet your online peers’ offline they are not disappointed and they don’t feel duped.

This list is by no means exhaustive, however, I wanted to keep it short, sweet, and easy to follow. As far as getting you started, this is your super pack. Apply these five things and be patient. Give it time, keep at it, and you will definitely see results.